


Knock Next Time

by stardust_and_sunlight



Category: The Icemark Chronicles - Stuart Hill
Genre: 5+1, Fluff, M/M, THAT FEELS LIKE A LOT OF PRESSURE, THESE CHARACTERS HAVE NEVER BEEN TAGGED BEFORE, and daft boys, anyway, being her usual self, oblivious Cressida, read these books, there's only two other Icemark fics on this site, this is mostly Cressida, which is a travesty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-04
Updated: 2016-09-04
Packaged: 2018-08-12 23:57:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7954069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stardust_and_sunlight/pseuds/stardust_and_sunlight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>alternate title: "five times Cressida didn't care about knocking (and one time she really really wished she had)".</p>
            </blockquote>





	Knock Next Time

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired fully by this one little sentence from either the second or third book (god I started writing this so long ago I can't even remember...)  
> I hope you like it! It really did take me a worryingly long time. If I'm being totally truthful I maybe kept putting it off a little, because I seek validation and I know this will get very little because it's not a well-known book series. I'm pretty proud of this, but I know it won't get any attention and my brain will be like "hah see you're shit" so you know. That's not great.  
> But even if one person likes it, that'll be enough!

_The Crown Princess never knocked on any door, and Mekhmet had often found himself holding a small face-flannel in a very strategic position and having a conversation with Cressida while otherwise completely naked._

1.

"Mekhmet!" Cressida shouted, slamming open the door to his room. It banged against the wall behind with a resounding thud, and Cressida strode through, her booted feet muffled on the rich carpets covering the cold stone floor. 

"Hold on a minute," came the reply from behind the screen that partitioned the sleeping area from the rest of the room. 

She ignored the response, stepping around the screen. Mekhmet, who was half naked and trying to put on a shirt, yelped and stepped backwards reflexively, tripping over the open chest of clothes at his feet and sprawling awkwardly on the floor. 

"Sharley told me to tell you that the werewolf relay said that the Queen and the others will be back in less than half an hour, and you'll be dining with the family, of course."

Mekhmet blinked up at her. "Couldn't you have told me that from out there?" he said plaintively.

Cressida laughed. "Never got the hang of knocking," she said unconcernedly, then turned on her heel and left, leaving Mekhmet to clamber to his feet and wonder what had just happened.   
  
2.   
  
"Princess Cressida, I'm in the bath," Mekhmet said, glaring at her. "This can't have been that important."

"It's not my fault you're in the bath," Cressida snapped. 

"Yes, but you see, there's this thing called knocking, and-"

Cressida glowered at him, and Mekhmet was suddenly aware of is intense vulnerability at this particular moment. 

"But that's fine," he said hurriedly. "What's up?"

"You got that saying from Sharley, didn't you," Cressida said, momentarily distracted. 

Mekhmet blushed. "Is it an odd saying? I never know, sometimes I worry he's telling me rude things to say."

Cressida laughed. "No, you're fine," she said, and then straightened up, business-like. "I have a message from the Queen: she would like the report on the numbers of soldiers going to and from the Icemark by tomorrow evening.”

Mekhmet looked up at her, mouth agape. “That’s all?!” he burst out. “You could have told me that later! You could have written it down!”

“This is quicker,” Cressida said, and then she was gone.  
  
3. 

“Mekhmet!” Cressida shouted, barrelling into his room. “Oh, hi, Sharley.”

Sharley and Mekhmet were sprawled on the low couch in Mekhmet’s room, close to the fire, Mekhmet hands raised as if she’d interrupted him in the middle of making a point in one of his and Sharley’s long-winded and weirdly intense debates. They looked up at her, and she instinctively stood taller.

“Dad, I mean, the Witchfather, wants to talk to you, Mekhmet. He said something about using the Sight for long distance communication to the Desert Kingdom?”

“Ah, yes,” Mekhmet said, but he sounded odd, and Cressida frowned, glancing between him and Sharley. Now that she was looking, and not distracted by the myriad things she had to do, she noticed that both Sharley and Mekhmet looked awkward, and Sharley was slightly flushed, not the flush of heat from the fire but a deeper, nervous flush.

“Are you two okay?” she asked suspiciously.

“Yeah, uhm,” Sharley cleared his throat. “Yeah, we’re fine. We were just… talking.”

Cressida’s brow furrowed, and she glowered at them both. “Whatever,” she said, dismissively, and turned around to leave, letting the door slam shut behind her.  
  
4.

Cressida burst into Mekhmet’s room, the door banging against the wall. “Mekhmet!” she bellowed. “You’re late for our sparring practice! It’s very unlike you…”

She was fully dressed in combat gear, sword and shield and everything clattering, booted feet stomping on the floor, as she strode towards the opulent partition and burst through it.

Mekhmet let out a strangled scream and Cressida stopped, blinking as Mekhmet dove under the covers, frantic and panicked.

Cressida bit back a laugh. “Sorry, did I interrupt something?”

Mekhmet poked his head out from under the heavy quilts. “No, no, you’re fine,” he said, trying to be calm, voice high-pitched.

“Sorry, were you not _finished_?” Cressida smirked. “Were you having fun? Was it too _hard_ for you to remember that we had practice scheduled?”

“Can you please leave?” Mekhmet said, trying to sound regal and dignified, but largely failing.

“Yes, of course,” Cressida said, still laughing. “Shall we delay practice for say, half an hour? I’m not letting you _get off_ , you did promise.”

“Please stop,” snapped Mekhmet, and Cressida finally left, still chuckling.  
  
5.

“Mekhmet, are you in there? Is Sharley there? Kirimin is looking for you both-” Cressida stalked into the room, knocking over a chair that was in the way. She cursed under her breath, bending down to pick it up.

Muttering to herself, she marched over to the screen, noting with mild curiosity the rustling sounds coming from behind, and the muted whispers. She stepped around it, uncaring.

“Oh, hello, Sharley,” she said, surprised to see both Mekhmet and Sharley sprawled across Mekhmet’s bed, both of them looking rather flustered.

“Sharley, while I remember, Mum has a message for you,” Cressida said, and Sharley sat up, still looking flushed and awkward. Cressida tilted her head to the side, considering him, and he squirmed under her gaze, but then she shrugged, dismissing it. She had other things to do.

“Mum said there’s no hurry, but if you could go see her before dinner.” Sharley nodded, and Cressida frowned, trying to bring up her mental list. “Oh, yes. Kirimin is looking for you both, she wants to talk to you about the excursion she’s planning and she needs your input. She has to submit a proper report to her mum or she won’t be allowed to go.”

Both Sharley and Mekhmet chuckled at that. “Is she making the report unnecessarily bright and exuberant?” Sharley asked, discomfort gone.

Cressida smiled. “I don’t know, she didn’t show me, but I assume her language is very… flowery. Maggie despairs, he really does. Anyway,” she said briskly, already turning to leave, “go talk to Kirimin!”

“…nice to see you!” Sharley shouted after her. Cressida decided to ignore the sarcastic tone in his voice.  
  
(+1)  
  
Cressida fumed as she stomped along the corridors, the few housecarles and werewolves that were still about scurrying out of her way, her rage a tangible thing. How dare her mother exclude her from this meeting! How could she fully assess the situation with second hand information?

A small voice in the back of her head reminded her of the relative unimportance of this meeting, but she ignored it, preferring to let her rage run its course. 

The castle was quiet at this time of night, and as she went deeper into the castle, she was undisturbed from her brooding. Her anger subsided, and she slowed her pace, happy to just wander. 

She would go see Sharley, she decided. He was usually up at this time. And it was always nice to talk to Sharley. 

She picked up the pace again, now she had a goal. Sharley's quarters were up high, in one    of the tallest towers in the citadel. He said he liked the view, but secretly Cressida thought that he simply enjoyed the relative ease at which he could climb stairs now that his limp was virtually gone. 

She didn't even bother to hesitate at the door, confident that nothing could faze her, but this time she was unprepared for the sight that lay before her. 

Mekhmet, the famous warrior, the Crown Prince of the Desert Kingdom, was lying on the luxurious couch, _completely naked,_ while Sharley, her _little brother_ , was...

She shrieked in horror, and Sharley and Mekhmet sprang apart, grabbing frantically for sheets to cover themselves. 

Cressida pressed her hands to her eyes, desperately hoping to scrub what she had seen from her mind. 

"Oh gods," she said, whirling around to face the wall as she heard scrambling behind her.  "Oh _gods_. Please tell me you have clothes on before I turn around. Please."

"Umm. Yes. We're good," said Sharley sheepishly. 

Cressida spun slowly around on her heel, lowering her hands from her eyes and blinking at the two dishevelled boys in front of her. 

Sharley's face was bright red, clashing dreadfully with his hair, and she was sure she was equally crimson. Mekhmet's dark skin showed no sign of a blush, but he looked absolutely mortified and was refusing to meet her eye. 

They were both an absolute state, clothes haphazardly pulled on and hair a mess. 

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. 

"How, how-" she coughed to clear her throat and started again. "How long has this been going on for?"

Sharley and Mekhmet looked at each other, and shared a small smile. "It depends on what you mean by 'this'," Sharley said, a trace of his usual mischievousness in his voice. 

Cressida sighed. "I don't think I want to know," she said, and then glared at them. "Are you happy?"

The two boys looked taken aback by her question. 

"Well? Are you?" she prompted. 

Sharley smiled suddenly, blindingly bright, and reached for Mekhmet's hand. "Yes," he said forcefully, sticking out his chin. 

Cressida looked at Mekhmet, who grinned at Sharley and nodded. 

"Good," she said briskly. "I'm going to leave now. I'd prefer to know nothing about this, if possible."

Mekhmet chuckled. "Are you going to start knocking doors now?"

Cressida growled and turned on her heel, slamming the door behind her, hiding a small smile. He might have a point. She might have to. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/holIyshort) -please do come and say hi and talk to me about the Icemark books!


End file.
